Massachusetts man charged with forgery after allegedly signing brother’s name on OUI documents

HOLDEN, Maine — A Massachusetts man who was arrested Tuesday on an operating under the influence charge also was charged with felony forgery after he reportedly identified himself as his brother — and signed legal documents as his brother.

Thomas Sanker, 63, who told law enforcement officials that he is in the process of moving to Bass Harbor, was released on bail after a court appearance on Wednesday at the Penobscot Judicial Center, Holden police Sgt. Eugene Fizell said Wednesday.

Fizell said the series of events that led to the charges began about 5:45 p.m. when Maine Game Warden Shannon Fish saw a car weaving on U.S. Route 1A and pulled the driver over for a safety check.

When Fish did so, he noted that the driver was exhibiting signs of intoxication and performed field sobriety tests. When Sanker allegedly failed the tests, Fish called Fizell, who is a certified Intoxilyzer operator, Fizell said.

Story continues below advertisement.

Fizell said further testing indicated that Sanker’s blood alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit of .08. Sanker was arrested and charged with OUI.

When Sanker’s brother showed up at Penobscot County Jail to bail him out, he was required to provide identification and when he did so, jail officials and the bail bondsman discovered that Sanker had given law enforcement officials his brother’s name and date of birth. Furthermore, Sanker signed his brother’s name to legal documents related to his arrest, Fizell said.

When police checked on the status of Sanker Massachusetts driver’s license, they learned that it was under suspension because of an OUI in that state, Fizell said.

Sanker now is facing the additional charges of driving without a license and aggravated forgery, a Class B crime that carries a penalty of up to 10 years in jail.